"Home Remedies" for Self-Injurious Behavior
Tips to Stop Cutting and Reduce Mutilation Injuries
Oct 6, 2009
Self harm is a complex and serious mental condition that covers a wide range of self-injurious behaviors, including cutting and burning. People commit acts of self abuse for a variety of reasons. The most common cause of self-injury is an impaired ability to deal with negative emotions.
People who self-harm often feel shame or guilt after self-mutilation, and may wonder how to stop cutting themselves. Self help for self injury is, unfortunately, often unsuccessful. Self-injurious behavior is addictive, and few people who suffer from the disorder can fight the urge without professional help. The first and most important step in any self injury help program is to seek help from a qualified medical professional.
Alternatives to Self-Mutilation
People fighting self-abuse develop a number of coping strategies for when the need to hurt themselves arises. Some people practice relaxation or meditative techniques. Other people rely on support groups or family members to work past self-injurious thoughts.
Self-help for self-injury can include redirecting the self-injurious thought into more acceptable actions. For instance, people who have the urge to punch themselves might hit a punching bag or pillow, rip apart an old magazine, or take other actions that are substitutes for hurting themselves.
Intense Experiences and Self-Injury
People recovering from self-abusive behavior will inevitably confront the need to hurt themselves. When this occurs, some recovering self-mutilators substitute intense (and often painful) activities for their usual method of self-harm. One technique is to squeeze ice cubes as hard as possible, and let the pain from the cold work as a substitute for more serious injuries.
Another option is to wear an elastic band around the wrist. When the urge to self-harm hits the person snaps the elastic band against the wrist, resulting in a sharp sting but no lasting damage. Other possibilities include taking cold showers or eating food with strong flavors, such as lemons, hot peppers, or raw ginger root.
Such techniques are stop-gap measures to prevent people from hurting themselves in more dangerous ways. While squeezing ice cubes hurts, once over with there are no cuts, burns or contusions. The danger in “substitute acts” is the self-abuser may eventually swap one painful act for another (albeit less damaging) event. Anyone considering substituting an intense event for self-injurious acts should discuss the idea and its appropriateness with his or her healthcare provider.
When Nothing Works
Recovering from self-injurious behavior is very much like recovering from alcohol or drug abuse. When stress or intense emotions develop, the temptation to self-injure is always there. Not every attempt to avoid self-abuse will be successful.
When people do give in to the urge to self-injure, they should try to do so as safely as possible. Suggestions for limiting the damage of self-injurious behavior include:
- Do not use alcohol or drugs while treating self-injurious behavior. Both activities increase the risk of self-mutilation and the possibility of serious injury or death while self-injuring.
- Have first aid supplies close by.
- Do not share items used to self-injure. Diseases, including AIDS and hepatitis, can be transmitted through shared cutting items.
- Set a limit on self-harm activities. While not self-injuring at all is optimal, by limiting the time and severity of self-harm people exercise at least some control over their addiction.
Self-injurious behavior can be changed and treated successfully. Successful treatment of self-injurious behavior requires professional medical care in most cases: as noted above, self-harm is as much an addiction as drug or alcohol abuse. Self-help techniques for self-mutilation, while limited in effectiveness, can at least alleviate some of the consequences and symptoms of self-harm.
Resources
Mayo Clinic. (Retrieved 30 September, 2009). Self-Injury / Cutting: Lifestyle and Home Remedies
Secret Shame. (Retrieved 30 September, 2009). Self-Help: Organized and Otherwise
Disclaimer: The information contained within this article is for informational purposes only, and is not intended to be a substitute in any way for care and treatment by a qualified health professional.
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